World War One in Summary

1. World War Onein Summary

2. A few key battles and events that you should be familiar with:

3. Timeline of Key Events • 1914 Franz Ferdinand assassinated • 1914 Christmas Truce between British, French and Germans • 1915 Lusitania sunk • 1915 Italy breaks alliance and declares war on Austria-Hungary • 1915 8-month Battle of Gallipoli, half million casualties • 1916 Sussex hit by German torpedo results in Sussex Pledge • 1916 9-month Battle of Verdun, France, over 1 million casualties • 1916 5-month Battle of the Somme, over 1 million casualties • 1917 Zimmerman Note/Germany resumes unrestricted sub warfare • 1917 U.S. declares war on Germany • 1917 Russian Revolution puts Lenin’s Bolsheviks in charge • 1918 Russia signs treaty with Germany, drops out of war • 1918 Romanov family executed, kept secret by communist govt. • 1918 Armistice signed 11am, November 11th • 1919 Paris Peace Conference, Treaty of Versailles

4. It really all started with Russia’s desire for the famous city of Constantinople in Turkey. Austria promised that if Russia would allow it to annex Bosnia-Herzegovina, Austria would remain silent and in fact support Russia in taking Constantinople. Russia will never accomplish this.

5. 1914

6. June 28th 1914 – Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia, a country Austria had annexed in 1908 One month later, on July 28th, Austria declared war on Serbia when Serbia refused to meet all of Austria’s demands.

8. “No Man’s Land”

9. Christmas Eve, 1914 – After months of trenches on either side of “no man’s land”, a spontaneous event occurs along the western front from Belgium to France. Historians agree, it was started by the Germans. The Germans offered some chocolate along with a note proposing a cease-fire so the Germans could celebrate Christmas. Other eyewitness reports have the Germans bringing Christmas trees with lit candles on them across “no man’s land”, risking their lives in the name of peace and good will. British soldier German soldier 12/25/1914

10. The German Company-Commander asked Buffalo Bill if he would accept a couple of barrels of beer and assured him that they would not make his men drunk. They had plenty of it in the brewery. He accepted the offer with thanks and a couple of their men rolled the barrels over and we took them into our trench. The German officer sent one of his men back to the trench, who appeared shortly after carrying a tray with bottles and glasses on it. Officers of both sides clinked glasses and drunk one another's health. Buffalo Bill had presented them with a plum pudding just before. The officers came to an understanding that the unofficial truce would end at midnight. At dusk we went back to our respective trenches. Click here for eyewitness account of Christmas Truce

11. The Germans are said to have begun singing “StilleNacht, heiligeNacht,” (Silent Night).

12. 1915

13. Timeline of Key Events • 1914 Franz Ferdinand assassinated • 1914 Christmas Truce between British, French and Germans • 1915 Lusitania sunk • 1915 Italy breaks alliance and declares war on Austria-Hungary • 1915 8-month Battle of Gallipoli, half million casualties • 1916 Sussex hit by German torpedo results in Sussex Pledge • 1916 9-month Battle of Verdun, France, over 1 million casualties • 1916 5-month Battle of the Somme, over 1 million casualties • 1917 Zimmerman Note/Germany resumes unrestricted sub warfare • 1917 U.S. declares war on Germany • 1917 Russian Revolution puts Lenin’s Bolsheviks in charge • 1918 Russia signs treaty with Germany, drops out of war • 1918 Romanov family executed, kept secret by communist govt. • 1918 Armistice signed 11am, November 11th • 1919 Paris Peace Conference, Treaty of Versailles

14. May 7th, 1915 - German sub sinks the Lusitania, a British liner travelling from New York to Liverpool, England, killing nearly 1200, and 128 Americans. The U.S. manages to stay out of the war for another two full years.

15. What was a British passenger ship doing in German submarine occupied waters at the height of the war? Historian Howard Zinn wrote in A People's History of the United States, that the Lusitania carried 1,248 cases of 3-inch shells, 4,927 boxes of cartridges (1,000 rounds in each box), and 2,000 more cases of small-arms ammunition. The ship’s manifests do, indeed, list the contraband that was being sent to Britain.

16. Lusitania departed Pier 54 in New York on 1 May 1915. The German Embassy in Washington had issued this warning on 22 April. “Notice! Travellers intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies; that the zone of war includes the waters adjacent to the British Isles; that, in accordance with formal notice given by the Imperial German Government, vessels flying the flag of Great Britain, or any of her allies, are liable to destruction in those waters and that travellers sailing in the war zone on the ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk. Imperial German Embassy Washington, D.C. 22nd April 1915”

17. Last days of the Lusitania -Departs New York at noon, May 1, 1915, amid German warnings to its 1,256 passengers -May 6, Lusitania's captain receives warning that U-20 is active off southern Irish coast -May 7, Lusitania alters course after a new warning, heading northwest to approach coast, thinking that U-boat would stay in open waters -U-20, low on fuel and heading for home, spots Lusitania at 1pm. Steaming at 20 knots into Queenstown (new Cobh) harbour -U-20 captain gives order to fire torpedo at 2.20pm as Lusitania crosses right in front of submarine. A second explosion occurs immediately after torpedo hits -Lusitania sinks at 2.28pm

18. The diving team estimates that around four million rounds of U.S.-manufactured Remington .303 bullets lie in the Lusitania's hold at a depth of 300ft. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1098904/Secret-Lusitania-Arms-challenges-Allied-claims-solely-passenger-ship.html#ixzz18hzUVFwY

19. April – December 1915– Battle of Gallipoli. An attack by the Allies in the hopes of knocking Turkey out of the war. Australia and New Zealand will see some of their first major combat in their countries’ histories. British Ship HMS Majestic 3 minutes after a German torpedo found its mark

20. The Gallipoli campaign is seen now as an ill-fated poorly planned and executed military blunder, and a successful defense and defeat of the Allies by the Turks.

21. Winston Churchill was relieved as First Lord of the Admiralty after the Battle of Gallipoli Mustafa Kemal in Gallipoli with his soldiers, 1915. The Turkish forces at Gallipoli were inspired by the leadership of their commander Mustafa Kemal who, after the war, became the first president of Turkey taking the name Ataturk (Father Turk).

22. 1916

23. Timeline of Key Events • 1914 Franz Ferdinand assassinated • 1914 Christmas Truce between British, French and Germans • 1915 Lusitania sunk • 1915 Italy breaks alliance and declares war on Austria-Hungary • 1915 8-month Battle of Gallipoli, half million casualties • 1916 Sussex hit by German torpedo results in Sussex Pledge • 1916 9-month Battle of Verdun, France, over 1 million casualties • 1916 5-month Battle of the Somme, over 1 million casualties • 1917 Zimmerman Note/Germany resumes unrestricted sub warfare • 1917 U.S. declares war on Germany • 1917 Russian Revolution puts Lenin’s Bolsheviks in charge • 1918 Russia signs treaty with Germany, drops out of war • 1918 Romanov family executed, kept secret by communist govt. • 1918 Armistice signed 11am, November 11th • 1919 Paris Peace Conference, Treaty of Versailles

24. March 24th, 1916,a German sub fires on the French passenger ship the Sussex, killing 50 people, but the ship stays afloat and is towed into port. Cross-channel ferry Sussex at Boulogne after being torpedoed in March 1916. The entire forepart of the ship was destroyed in the attack

25. The Sussex Pledge from Germany to the U.S., May 4th, 1916. Passenger ships would not be targeted; Merchant ships would not be sunk until the presence of weapons had been established, if necessary by a search of the ship; Merchant ships would not be sunk without provision for the safety of passengers and crew.

26. Timeline of Key Events • 1914 Franz Ferdinand assassinated • 1914 Christmas Truce between British, French and Germans • 1915 Lusitania sunk • 1915 Italy breaks alliance and declares war on Austria-Hungary • 1915 8-month Battle of Gallipoli, half million casualties • 1916 Sussex hit by German torpedo results in Sussex Pledge • 1916 9-month Battle of Verdun, France, over 1 million casualties • 1916 5-month Battle of the Somme, over 1 million casualties • 1917 Zimmerman Note/Germany resumes unrestricted sub warfare • 1917 U.S. declares war on Germany • 1917 Russian Revolution puts Lenin’s Bolsheviks in charge • 1918 Russia signs treaty with Germany, drops out of war • 1918 Romanov family executed, kept secret by communist govt. • 1918 Armistice signed 11am, November 11th • 1919 Paris Peace Conference, Treaty of Versailles

27. February – December 1916 - Battle of Verdun French vs. German • At 9-10 months, it is often considered the longest battle in military history, certainly WWI. • It resulted in over 1 million casualties between the two sides, with about 1/3 (300,000) resulting in deaths. • First recorded use of flamethrower as a weapon French soldiers in action at Verdun

28. French troops in their trenches at Verdun 1916 "You eat beside the dead; you drink beside the dead, you relieve yourself beside the dead and you sleep beside the dead.“ - French soldier

29. “Going over the top” at Verdun Click here for pictures of Verdun battle field today

30. German trenches at Verdun

31. Timeline of Key Events • 1914 Franz Ferdinand assassinated • 1914 Christmas Truce between British, French and Germans • 1915 Lusitania sunk • 1915 Italy breaks alliance and declares war on Austria-Hungary • 1915 8-month Battle of Gallipoli, half million casualties • 1916 Sussex hit by German torpedo results in Sussex Pledge • 1916 9-month Battle of Verdun, France, over 1 million casualties • 1916 5-month Battle of the Somme, over 1 million casualties • 1917 Zimmerman Note/Germany resumes unrestricted sub warfare • 1917 U.S. declares war on Germany • 1917 Russian Revolution puts Lenin’s Bolsheviks in charge • 1918 Russia signs treaty with Germany, drops out of war • 1918 Romanov family executed, kept secret by communist govt. • 1918 Armistice signed 11am, November 11th • 1919 Paris Peace Conference, Treaty of Versailles

32. July, 1916 – Battle of the Somme British trench in the Somme, a region in France named after a river of the same name

33. British Front Lines – The Somme

34. The Somme • July 1, 1916, resulted in the worst one-day loss in British history, with just under 60,000 casualties. • Marked the first use of the tank in warfare • The Somme also took about a million casualties, very comparable to Verdun.

35. 1917

36. January 1917 - German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmerman sends a telegram to Mexico offering it parts of U.S. territory if it helps Germany if the US enters the war. British intelligence intercepts the telegram and smartly shows it to the US in the hopes of finally pushing the US to enter on the side of the Allies.

37. The United States enters WWI in 1917 February 1st, 1917 – Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare, repealing its Sussex Pledge February 3rd– The U.S. severs ties with Germany February 24th– British pass the Zimmerman telegram to the U.S. March 1st – The Zimmerman Telegram is published to the American public March 15th– Tsar Nicholas II abdicates the throne to the Bolsheviks April 6th– The U.S. declares war on Germany and enters WWI

38. On April 6, 1917, by a vote of 82 to 6 in the Senate and 373 to 50 in the House of Representatives, the United States of America declared war on Germany. The U.S. will sacrifice almost 120,000 lives in about 18 months. WWI U.S. recruiting and propaganda poster (1917).

39. After so many lives lost in WWI, and since many people thought the royal family and Nicholas were out of touch with the common people, many of whom were starving, the Romanov’s 300 year rule was in jeopardy. February/March 1917 – Tsarist autocracy is overthrown and a provisional government installed October 1917 – Lenin’s Bolsheviks remove provisional govt. and install communist government “Peace, land, and bread!” Lenin in 1917 Tsar Nicholas II in captivity after his abdication of the throne in 1917

40. Timeline of Key Events • 1914 Franz Ferdinand assassinated • 1914 Christmas Truce between British, French and Germans • 1915 Lusitania sunk • 1915 Italy breaks alliance and declares war on Austria-Hungary • 1915 8-month Battle of Gallipoli, half million casualties • 1916 Sussex hit by German torpedo results in Sussex Pledge • 1916 9-month Battle of Verdun, France, over 1 million casualties • 1916 5-month Battle of the Somme, over 1 million casualties • 1917 Zimmerman Note/Germany resumes unrestricted sub warfare • 1917 U.S. declares war on Germany • 1917 Russian Revolution puts Lenin’s Bolsheviks in charge • 1918 Russia signs treaty with Germany, drops out of war • 1918 Romanov family executed, kept secret by communist govt. • 1918 Armistice signed 11am, November 11th • 1919 Paris Peace Conference, Treaty of Versailles

41. 1918

42. The agreement signed in March exacted even greater demands on Russia than those proposed earlier. Soviet territorial losses included the following areas to be controlled by Germany and Austria-Hungary: Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Kurland, Livonia and Bessarabia. Russia recognized the independence of Georgia, Ukraine and Finland. The Armenian districts of Ardahan, Kars and Batumi were ceded to the Ottoman Empire. Five months later, Russia agreed to pay hefty reparations for its part in opposing the Central Powers. March 3rd 1918 The treaty of Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers

43. The Russians lost more than 300,000 square miles of territory and in excess of 50 million people. Of greater significance, however, was the loss of huge sources of iron and coal in the ceded areas. From the Allied perspective, the treaty was a disaster in that it allowed the Germans to transfer soldiers to the Western Front, where they immediately gained numerical superiority. The German territorial triumph was short-lived. As part of the armistice signed in November 1918, Germany was forced to renounce the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The new Soviet government had managed to relieve its weary citizens of the burden of war against Germany, but the surrender of important territory provoked much criticism. The treaty also helped to establish, at least for the time being, the independence of Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. As a consequence of making a separate peace, Soviet Russia was denied the spoils of war enjoyed by the other Allied powers. http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1341.html

44. Some countries created =Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Albania, Cyprus, IranEuropean countries created =Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Albania, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and restoration of Poland 1919 - Paris Peace Conference and Treaty of Versailles Conference began in January 1919, and ended a year later in January 1920. Many treaties came out of the conference. One was the Treaty of Versailles, ratified June 28th, 1919, five years to the day of the assassination by Gavrilo Princip of Franz Ferdinand.

45. Germany in the Treaty of Versailles • Land had to be handed over to Poland, France, Belgium and Denmark. • All land taken from Russia had to be handed back to Russia. • Germany’s army had to be reduced to 100,000 men. • Germany’s navy was reduced to 6 battleships with no submarines. • No German air force was allowed. • Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria. • Germany had to accept the "War Guilt Clause" and pay reparations.

46. Woodrow Wilson’s 14 Points Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points were first outlined in a speech Wilson gave to the American Congress in January 1918. Wilson's Fourteen Points became the basis for a peace program and it was on the back of the Fourteen Points that Germany and her allies agreed to an armistice in November 1918. 1. No more secret agreements ("Open covenants openly arrived at"). 2. Free navigation of all seas. 3. An end to all economic barriers between countries. 4. Countries to reduce weapon numbers. 5. All decisions regarding the colonies should be impartial 6. The German Army is to be removed from Russia. Russia should be left to develop    her own political set-up. 7. Belgium should be independent like before the war.

47. Woodrow Wilson’s 14 Points 8. France should be fully liberated and allowed to recover Alsace-Lorraine 9. All Italians are to be allowed to live in Italy. Italy's borders are to "along    clearly recognizable lines of nationality." 10. Self-determination should be allowed for all those living in Austria-Hungary. 11. Self-determination and guarantees of independence should be allowed for       the Balkan states. 12. The Turkish people should be governed by the Turkish government. Non-Turks in       the old Turkish Empire should govern themselves. 13. An independent Poland should be created which should have access to the sea. 14. A League of Nations should be set up to guarantee the political and territorial        independence of all states.

48. Woodrow Wilson’s 14 Points The U.S. would never officially join the final of Wilson’s 14 points, The League of Nations. But for Wilson’s efforts, he would receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919.